Police v Pulega [2021] WSSC 76 (30 April 2021)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Pulega [2021] WSSC 76

Case name:	Police v Pulega
Citation:	[2021] WSSC 76
Decision date:	30 April 2021
Parties:	POLICE (Prosecution) AND LEVI SAUA PULEGA male of Matatufu Lotofaga. (Defendant)
Hearing date(s):
File number(s):	S463/21
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Nelson
On appeal from:
Order:	Convicted and sentenced to twelve (12) months in prison any remand in custody time to be deducted.
Representation:	I Atoa and E Tiitii for the prosecution Defendant unrepresented
Catchwords:	- Sexual connection – young age
Words and phrases:
Legislation cited:
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

POLICE
Prosecution

AND:

LEVI SAUA PULEGA male of Matatufu Lotofaga.
Defendant

Counsel:
I Atoa and E Tiitii for the prosecution
Defendant in person
Sentence: 30 April 2021

S E N T E N C E

1. The defendant has pleaded guilty to S463/21 which says that at Lotopa during 2017 he had sexual connection with the complainant a young female aged 15 years. Given the young age of the complainant the normal suppression order will issue in respect of publication of her name or any details that may identify her.
2. The Police summary of facts says he is a 40-year-old male of Matatufu and Saleapaga Aleipata married with children. The complainant as noted is a female aged 15 years and the defendant is her cousins husband. In 2016 the complainant stayed with the defendant and his wife at Saleapaga. And in 2017 she moved to stay with her biological father at Tanugamanono but kept in contact with the defendant via Facebook.
3. During 2017 the defendant and the complainant began engaging in an affair, culminating in them meeting at the Lotopa Lodge where the defendant had paid for a room. They engaged in sexual intercourse resulting in the complainant losing her virginity to the defendant.
4. There is no question the complainant consented to the act of sex but under the law it is not a defence that underage girls consent to sexual intercourse. Underage people generally do not understand the long term consequences of their actions and its importance. And being of young age they are easy to manipulate and persuade. Following the incident at Lotopa Lodge the complainant went back to Tanugamanono and the defendant to Saleapaga.
5. They continued however according to the summary of facts to remain in contact via Facebook. And towards the end of 2020 the defendants wife found text messages between them causing their relationship to be uncovered and reported to the Police. It is clear from this summation of the facts that the defendant who was over 20 years older than this young girl was grooming her for sexual purposes. And in this regard he was using the social platform Facebook and eventually he got his way.
6. Regrettably this is not an uncommon scenario and occurs in countries all over the world. And it illustrates how Facebook can be inappropriately used and manipulated by people for inappropriate and sometimes illegal purposes. Further it highlights the need for the education authorities in any country to constantly warn young girls of the dangers social platforms such as Facebook poses, and equip them with ways to avoid such traps and the predatory behavoiur of older more experienced individuals.
7. There are many documented cases of men who use Facebook to find young girls and lure them into sex. Which is why we have a law in place to protect young girls from such actions and to protect them from their own ill-considered and rash decisions. In order to apply this law, the court has in the past and will continue in the future to imprison older men who prey on young vulnerable teenagers.
8. The sentence must hold defendants to account for their actions and must reflect societies condemnation of this behaviour. In particular, the use of social media platforms such as Facebook for such purposes. Sentence must also send a message to the defendant and to everyone else of the consequences of sexual offending against an underage girl.
9. The maximum penalty for this offence by law is ten (10) years in prison. Considering all the circumstances of your matter however an appropriate start point for sentence is in the range of three (3) to four (4) years. As a gesture of leniency I will apply the lower end of the spectrum. From that three (3) years start point deduction must be made to allow for factors in your favour.
10. Firstly it is clear from the pre-sentence report there has been appropriate apologies and reconciliation or fa’aleleiga conducted in the family. This is appropriate in terms of our custom and our tradition. I am glad to see this has been done. Six (6) months will be deducted to reflect that issue. It has also been confirmed by the Probation Office in the pre-sentence report that the defendant and his family paid the village council penalty that is also an appropriate action to carry out and a further six (6) months will be deducted to reflect that issue.
11. It is apparent you have a clean record and from the pre-sentence report that you have a life and background of good service to your aiga and to the ekalesia and to the various villages where you have lived. To reflect those matters a further deduction of six (6) months will apply. These deductions total eighteen (18) months, leaves a balance of eighteen (18) months.
12. Final deduction you are eligible for Levi is for your guilty plea which has saved the courts valuable time and resources and has avoided this young girl having to come to court and relive this unpleasant episode in her life. Normal deduction for a guilty plea is one-quarter (¼) from the remaining balance of sentence, that is a period of four and half (4½) months, leaves a balance of thirteen and a half (13½) months.
13. In the circumstances of this particular case I will round that off and reduce that to twelve (12) months in prison which I believe is the appropriate sentence for your offending.
14. On the charge as brought before the court you will convicted and sentenced to twelve (12) months in prison any remand in custody time to be deducted.
    

JUSTICE NELSON